Going against the grain

In return for my love they act as my accusers; but I am in prayer.  --Psalm 109:4

Yesterday we heard a sermon on forgiveness.  One of the things the preacher said in passing really stuck with me.  He said when someone comes to him complaining about being mistreated, or being called names, or generally getting their feelings hurt, his first response is generally, "Well, did you die?"

His point was not that we tend to blow things out of proportion, which we do.  His point was not that we are raising a generation of coddled, thin-skinned, crybabies (which we are).  His point was that we shouldn't be taking our complaints about someone to another person.  We should first take it to the person who offended us.  If they don't repent, we take one or two of the elders to act as mediators.  Finally, if that doesn't work, we give it to God, who knows all about mistreatment.

You see, Jesus was mocked.  He was spat upon.  He was smacked around, beaten by fists, flailed at with reeds, flogged by a Roman cat-o'nine-tails whip, and finally nailed naked and bleeding to a wooden cross.  His reaction?  "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

This attitude of forgiveness was foreshadowed in Jesus's teaching to His disciples.  Matthew 5:44, Jesus rebuked those who preached hate by saying, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

The words Jesus used do not really translate well into English.  We have all heard great preachers and orators.  One of the things that made them great was the word choice, the cadence, the alliteration and imagery and synecdoche.  Let me explain.

The Greek word Jesus used that is generally translated, "those who persecute (you)" is dioko which means to pursue, to chase, to drive or cause to run, and when used in a legal context, is means to prosecute.  This is who Jesus was telling the disciples to be on the watch for.  He knew beforehand what He would suffer at the hands of the relentless prosecutors.  He also knew that His followers would be persecuted in much the same way.  He told them this, not to scare them or to make them avoid persecution, but rather to encourage them.  "Count it all joy, my brothers," James said, "when you fall into various trials." (James 1:2).

How do we do that?  The Greek word Jesus used that is generally translated "bless" is proseuchomai (pro-seh-YOO-koh-mah-eh).  Sounds a lot like "prosecute", doesn't it?  But its meaning is quite different.  It literally means to offer prayers for.  It is a combination of Greek words: pros, meaning towards or by reason of, and euchomai meaning to pray to God.  It is the root word for eucharist, which we usually think of as a Latin mass, but literally it means thanksgiving.  Can you imagine someone who would endure a beating and think, "God, thank you for that person who just struck me.  I lift up that person to Your throne; make Yourself real to them."  It is almost unfathomable, but it reveals the heart of Christ.

But wait--there's more!  The companion verse in Luke 6:28 says, "Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you."  The Greek word for bless is eulogeo.  It's where we get the term Eulogy, the nice words we say about someone when they pass away.  Jesus's message to us, however, is not to wait until they die to say something nice about them, but to even say it when they are mistreating us.

Now, I'm not saying that you should stay in an abusive relationship.  But when you get to a safe place, I believe that Jesus was telling us not to speak ill of that person.  I must confess, this part of Sunday's sermon hit me pretty hard; I know of several people that I like to bad-mouth when they are not around.  One of the points made in the sermon was that God will give us the same measure of grace that we give to others.  Forgiveness doesn't necessarily help the one who offends us, but it certainly helps us.  (Plus, there's the added bonus of "heaping coals of fire on their heads" as described in Romans 12:20, but that is conditional--it only follows if we find our enemy hungry and we feed them, and if we find our enemy thirsty and we give them a drink.)  How many times do we gloss over the verse that says, "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." (Matthew 6:15).   Again, let's drive home the point--God gives us the measure of grace that we give others.

Bless all people, especially those who hurt you.  Pray for everyone, but especially for those who have done you wrong.  Then you will be able to see the heart of God.